The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), representing the Nigerian private sector’s employers, has expressed concerns that the newly introduced expatriate employment levy could undermine President Bola Tinubu administration’s ongoing fiscal reforms.
In an open letter directed to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, which was published on the association’s official X account on Monday, NECA detailed these apprehensions.
The letter points out that expatriates living and working in Nigeria are already burdened with a slew of escalating levies. Specifically, they incur costs ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 for the Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Alien Card (CERPAC) processing, in addition to administration fees between $50 and $200..
- ”The newly introduced expatriate employment levy will frontally negate the efforts of the President at attracting foreign direct investment, starve businesses that need expertise and weaken the ongoing fiscal reforms spearheaded by the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax refor,s Committee headed by Mr Taiwo Oyedele. This is one economic contradiction too many,” the open letter read in part.
NECA also highlighted that during a period when Nigeria is witnessing a significant departure of companies from the country, exacerbating the already critical issue of rampant unemployment, the government has been consistently introducing policies on an almost weekly basis. These policies, according to NECA, carry the potential for adverse effects on the Nigerian economy, thereby worsening the nation’s economic challenges.
What you should know
- Recall that Nairametrics last Tuesday that President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the expatriate employment levy, a Federal Ministry of Interior initiative, at the State House Council Chambers, Abuja.
- The expatriate employment levy is aimed at bolstering revenue generation and fostering job creation for Nigerians in foreign-operated firms, the initiative also seeks to narrow the pay disparity between expatriates and local employees.
- Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo stated that the expatriate employment levy, which will be implemented through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, assigns the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) as the primary agency responsible for its execution.
